Ciara felt "empowered" after losing her baby weight

Ciara says she felt "empowered" after she lost the 60 pounds she put on whilst pregnant with her son Future, now two.

The 'I Bet' hitmaker was glad to drop the 60 pounds she put on whilst pregnant with son Future, now two, as it "motivated" her to work harder on her fitness.

She said: "I think when it comes to your body, it's all about the goals you set for yourself. I can honestly say when I first started my career, I weighed almost 20 lbs. more than I weigh now.

"Being healthy was a commitment for me. As a performer, I have to stay in shape, so it's become a way of life for me ...

"After delivering my son, a 9-lb. 10-oz. baby, and gaining 60 lbs., I was committed to [returning] to how I felt before I had him. Four months after having him, I was back to my original shape.

"There's something very empowering about that. Something about that gave me an extra pep in my step, and motivated me even more to go harder."

And the 30-year-old singer says being healthy is "a way of life" for her and she always tries to raise the bar higher when it comes to her own fitness.

She added to People magazine: "I feel like it's all about your own personal understanding and expectations that you have of yourself.

"I definitely, in my mind, want to always raise the bar high because being healthy has to be a way of life for me. And that's the level I set. I don't want to set a level where I am trying to make other people happy, either.

"I think it's important to always raise the bar high, keep the bar high in life for whatever you're trying to achieve because that's gonna ultimately allow you to keep doing bigger and better things.

"I think it boils down to your own understanding of what makes you feel beautiful."